Deborah Hall-Branch

"Overcoming The Results Of Childhood Sexual Abuse"

   Reviewer:  Forrest W. Schultz (Southside Arts Agenda E-Magazine)

      Childhood sexual abuse is such a horrifying and detrimental experience that there really are no words which are adequate to discuss it.  It is nothing short of amazing that anyone would ever be able to recover from it.  Or be able to write about it in a way that is helpful to a reader.  Deborah Hall-Branch has done both of these -- recovered from it and written a readable account of her own experience both as a victim of abuse and a victor over it. 

     According to her account in the book under review here, her victory was due to the healing of her life provided by God through Christ. She also wishes to show the reader that anyone suffering from abuse can receive this same salvation from Christ by following the principles which she learned from her own experience. 

     To get the whole picture of this one needs to read the book.  I will point out here one of the most important of these recovery principles, which is also probably the most difficult to do, and that is to forgive the offender.  Branch is very emphatic on this point -- freedom from the bondage of abuse will not be obtained until one forgives the abuser.

    This and the other principles are shown to be necessary for the souls wounded by abuse to experience healing and redemption and to recover their identity and to be able to love again and dream again.  The author not only discusses these principles but also warns that the road to recovery is not easy:  it will require a lot of effort and the victory will not come at once but will take some time.  Also the Product Description provides a warning that the writer suffered for many years until she at long last found deliverance from her painful bondage.  So, this is not only a book which offers hope but is also realistic in indicating the hard work involved in the recovery process.

    With this book Branch joins the ranks of all the other new authors on the Southside who have been making it into a burgeoning literary arts scene during the past several years.